Turkish police kill five in raid on Islamic State cell: Report

Reuters

ISTANBUL: Turkish police killed five Islamic State militants in a raid on a house in the city of Konya on Wednesday and four police were slightly wounded, the Dogan news agency said.

Special forces police launched the operation at the house in the Meram district of Konya, in central Turkey, at 5:15 a.m. (0215 GMT) because they believed the militant cell was planning an attack, the agency said.

Police sealed off the area and approaching vehicles were searched after the clash, which occurred during raids conducted by the police on 10 different addresses in Konya, it said.

Five Kalashnikov rifles and a pistol were seized during the raid on the house, it added.

Islamic State militants have in the past carried out gun and bomb attacks in Turkey. In recent years, thousands of foreign fighters had joined the jihadist group in their self-proclaimed caliphate in Syria and Iraq, many passing through Turkey.

Ankara has detained more than 5,000 Islamic State suspects and deported some 3,290 foreign militants from 95 different countries in recent years, according to Turkish officials.

Turkey yesterday said it remained hopeful of a solution to the Gulf crisis, after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held talks with Qatar's Minister of States for Defence, H E Dr Khalid bin Mohammed Al Attiyah at the headquarters of the ruling party in Ankara.